The Charles River Public Health District posted a regional public‑health agent (environmental health inspector) position “on Monday last Monday, the fourteenth,” Carrie Dunnell told the advisory group, and staff said the district had received 13 applications but so far “there isn't anyone of the 13 right now that has direct… public health inspection experience.”

The nut graf: district staff said they will screen candidates and rely on the state training hub, local trainers and mutual‑aid arrangements for short‑term inspection capacity because many applicants have laboratory or related experience rather than food service inspection or registered sanitarian credentials.

Dunnell said the posted role is grant‑funded and the posting notes the position is funded through 06/30/2027. She described current candidate experience as “adjacent” rather than inspectional: “There are folks that have adjacent experience, and there are folks that have clinical experience,” Dunnell said, adding that some applicants have lab experience rather than boots‑on‑the‑ground inspection experience.

The advisory group discussed training and pipeline options. The district hosts one of Massachusetts’ Department of Public Health training hubs and has access to food‑service trainers; Pat Martin, the food services trainer, was cited as available for emergent support but not for regular inspection workloads. Carrie Dunnell described the training hub infrastructure and said the Needham hub supports communities across the state and can move trainees through tiered training tracks.

For short‑term coverage, participants discussed mutual aid. Dunnell explained the statutory mutual‑aid framework: “It is called the statewide public safety mutual aid agreement. It's chapter 44 j of mass general law,” and noted that towns must opt into the agreement and that mutual aid is discretionary — a town may decline to send staff if it lacks capacity.

Recruiting steps reported at the meeting included boosted job postings on LinkedIn and Indeed, distribution through MHOA and the state training hub, phone screening of applicants and outreach to local networks. Dunnell said the posting was distributed on MeHAB and that the district paid to boost LinkedIn visibility. Cathy McDonald and others suggested leveraging DPH and community college pipelines and internships to build a longer‑term workforce pipeline.

Salary and funding: Dunnell read the posted hourly range for the role and said the posting listed an hourly rate that the district considered competitive. She also said the team will consider phone screens and additional outreach if the applicant pool remains inexperienced. The group discussed temporary coverage options using part‑time town inspectors or mutual aid while the district builds capacity.

Ending: no formal hiring decision was announced; staff said they will proceed with phone screenings and continue outreach, and communities agreed to explore local temporary coverage and training pipeline options.